The common cold is an acute, typically febrile viral infection which results in upper respiratory tract inflammations. The common cold is the most common infectious disease affecting humans. Of the several different families of viruses that cause the common cold, the most common is rhinovirus. Estimates indicate that over one billion cold infection events occur annually in the USA. Adults generally contract two to four colds each year while children typically suffer between six to ten cold events annually. The annual economic burden due to lost working days as a result of colds, is estimated to be about $5 billion in the USA.
The symptoms of a common cold infection include nasal congestion, coryza, headache, watery and burning eyes, fever and a cough. There are numerous prescription and over-the-counter drugs available to treat common colds. However, these drugs only help to alleviate the symptoms of the common cold and usually are accompanied by numerous side-effects such as stomach, nausea, headache, heartburn, diarrhea, constipation, drowsiness and/or dizziness.